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The first flag of independent India
By Anil Dhir
On the Imphal-Ukrhul road in Manipur, one takes a detour at Finch Corner to reach Shangshak, where the Indian Army has put up a War Memorial. It has been raised by the Maratha Light Infantry to commemorate the dead of the…
The Kohinoor should be restored to its rightful place at the Jagannath Temple
By Anil Dhir
Bhubaneswar: Earlier, in April 2016, the Government of India had told the Supreme Court that the Kohinoor diamond was neither “forcibly taken nor stolen” by the British, but had instead been gifted to the East India Company…
How puritanism is hurting the cause of Odia
By Shyamanuja Das*
Once, in an Odia tweet, I used the word saamil. Soon, I started getting quite a few responses that (politely) asked me to use some pure Odia word instead.
Till then, I had never thought of saamil as a non-Odia…
Hunger has no religion: Azhar Maqsusi’s mission is manna for Hyderabad homeless
By Mohammed Shafeeq
Hyderabad: Homeless beggars, ragpickers and labourers sitting with plates on a mat are waiting under a flyover. As the clock strikes 12.30 pm, a slim man appears on the scene and starts serving hot rice and dal.…
Karnataka verdict makes Congress’ task harder for 2019 elections
By Prashant Sood
New Delhi: The results of Karnataka assembly polls must have came as a disappointment for the Congress party and its ambitions for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, but it can take some solace from the fact that it was able to…
For the corpse burners of Varanasi, untouchability is still a reality
By Somrita Ghosh
Varanasi: It was past 10 in the night. Four pyres were aflame at Manikarnika Ghat on the banks of the Ganga here. Gagan Choudhary, a corpse burner, was shifting from one pyre to another as the air reeked of burning flesh…
Supreme Court: A court under siege
By SK Padhi*
The Supreme Court of India is a great institution which is a fundamental pillar of our democracy. It is the ultimate arbiter of human rights and dignity, protector of fundamental rights, guardian of the basic fabric of the…
Will social media replace traditional media as democracy’s fourth pillar?
The increasing polarisation among media in India -- and perhaps across the world -- has led to an unprecedented trust deficit in everyday news. What was once regarded as the fourth pillar of democracy today finds itself under the scrutiny…
When Odisha handed over the keys of Jagannath temple to the British!
- Anil Dhir
Puri: The opening of the Ratna Bhandar is happening amidst a charged atmosphere of distrust and mistrust. The various factions are at loggerheads. Whether the Ratna Bhandar is an el dorado with fabulous riches is something…
Interesting facts about Odisha’s legendary leader Biju Patnaik and his Tibetan Phantoms
By Anil Dhir*
Up till the late 1990s, they were regularly seen at the market of Choudwar. The locals took them to be Gurkhas of the Odisha Special Armed Police, often deployed at the outer periphery of the Charbatia air base. Old-timers…